They work alone many times hidden away in cobwebbed corners taking care of what remains after the filth of the world takes its toll.
Their living is a form of ministry although they'll never admit it or probably even know it until they get their reward in another world.
The ones that work for nothing and rarely if ever get the proper thanks they deserve....
But they don't care because it's not about getting anything back.
It's about service and care and giving and loving like there's no tomorrow.
It's about sacrifice. Sacrificed sleep and emotions and energy and money and their own pleasure.
You know who I'm talking about....
The silent encouragers.
Encouragers isn't even a word in the dictionary. But we all know who they are even though we never think about them unless we need them.
The people that pick up our pieces.
The people that listen to our midnight rants and pour the balm on our broken hearts.
The person that smiles at you and makes that moment a little better.
The mom that gives you that one sentence that gets you back up on your horse and going.
The little sibling that says "you're the best" when we know we're not.
The dad that says he'll finance yet another wild venture because he believes in you.
And then the whole family and church family prays our head stays together while we go off and do it.
The friend that we always end up dumping on.
The other friend that tells us the "hard" truth because they love us and all they get is an angry outburst for their trouble.
The person that takes the slack when we "need" someone to yell at...
If you've ever stayed up til 2 or 4am.... If you've ever not known what to do, but you did something anyway because you couldn't leave a horrible situation without at least trying.... If you've ever swallowed your feelings to comfort someone else.... If you've ever sacrificed a grade because study wasn't as important as a person....If you've ever done the hard thing because it was the right thing.... If you've ever held on to a sobbing idiot and felt even more idiotic because you couldn't think of any way to fix it... If you've ever not walked away when that seemed to be the only option.... If you've ever walked away because someone depended on you too much and you loved them too much to let them... If you've ever given advice or withheld it for the same reason...
This post is for you. To say thanks for the tears, the frustration, the times you couldn't think of anything to say but you dug around until you found an old cliche that fit better than all the fancy language in the world could have.
I know you beat yourself up. I know you look back and think of a million things you think you should have done or said or looked for or seen coming or been prepared for. A thousand pieces of advice you wish you'd given or not given. A hundred nights when you wished you'd actually been a bit more prepared instead of not even knowing where the tissue box or the Bible was. Or maybe you just wish you weren't there at all. And then feel guilty for thinking such a thing. Hey, listen. It's ok. I'm so glad you aren't like so many that advert their eyes from the grime. I'm so grateful that you roll up your sleeves when you see a problem. I'm so glad your pants have holes in them from kneeling. I'm so glad you were there. Even if it wasn't for me. I'm glad you were there for whoever it was you were there for. And chances are just being there and doing something was the right thing.
So thank you. Whether you ever get told this or not the world wouldn't be the same way without you.
